A Hidden Gem Cloaked in Sorrow
by RukiaCHAN 1
Summary: Years have passed since Katniss first defied the Capitol, now theyre back, and Izabelle lives in a far tougher 12 then ever before. The reaping of the 100th Hunger Games she & her bestfriend Jayson are called as tributes. With nothing more than her brother's death & pure motivation swirling in her mind as she enters the arena can she and Jay survive? Or will the capitol win again?
1. The Reaping

This is an edited version of the first chapter. I went through and fixed the sentence structure, among other things :3

So i hope you like it, chapter is edited and being uploaded next, and i'm about to finish chapter 3 :D

Enjoy!

I don't own the hunger games.

_**(also MAJOR spoilers are in here. This is based after the third book, so if you haven't read it, dont read this)**_

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_**Katniss Everdeen; 26 long years ago she made the decision to rebel against the Capitol and intern, caused the people of Panem more grief and pain than anyone could foresee. Years after the 'Capitol Games' was held, reinforcements for the people of the Capitol arrived; apparently under orders from a mysterious organisation based in South Eastern Europe called 'Mysteek'. Ever since then, Mysteek took over rulings of the Capitol, and their people. The new generation of children born in the districts have suffered far greater than those past, and every year the newly reinstated 'Hunger Games' have become more and more violent. Katniss Everdeen use to be a name that brought hope to those in need, now it only brings shame to the tributes from District 12, because this time, instead of staying and protecting the people she use to fight for, she ran and hid. To everyone living under Capitol laws; the Mockingjay is dead and forgotten.**_

OoOoO

"Izabelle, you look wonderful," my mother says softly as she finishes tying the waistband around me. I look at myself in the mirror. Her old reaping dress seems to fit me like a glove now. The black velvet sash sits squarely at my waist and the end of the perfectly white skirt stays in the middle of my calves. The dress itself is… well… plain. Small unimaginative black designs border the very bottom of the skirt, sleeves and neckline but that's all, white, white and more white. My mother laces a long necklace around me and ties the latch up; I pick up the pendant, a small silver ring, with a fairly reasonable size ruby, held in place by small, detailed vines of silver. My Grandmothers ring, if there is one thing in this world my mother cherished above all else, it was this ring. I turn to question her, but before I get the chance to, she smiles and runs her hand over my cheek,

"Turn back around, I need to do something with your hair…" she says softly.

I let the ring go and watch the light reflect through the ruby onto the white fabric, dancing rays of light bounce from fold to fold of the stark white dress and brightens my entire presence. My stomach knots like every year I suppose, but something about this year feels different, not just because it's the centennial or that the third tribute can range from 18 to 25, something I know just doesn't feel right. I clutch my stomach, hoping that somehow it will stop spinning,

"Is something wrong?" my mother asks from over my shoulder while tugging at my platinum blonde hair,

"N-no, it's nothing," I say with a pitiful attempt at a convincing smile. She raises one of her slender brown eyebrows before sighing and continuing to play with my hair. Once she's finished I look much older than I feel, my hair was pulled back at the sides and strands fall just to the side of my cheeks, and after a few tweaks and shifting, the dress seemed to fall in the right places to make my body look curvier than it really is. Oh dear padding, what a cruel mistress you can be I think with a smile.

OoOoO

My mother sits down at the kitchen table while I pull the rabbit meat Jayson and I caught this morning off of the fire and it cut up on a small platter with cheese and fresh fruit. Every year since my brother's death, Jayson's family come over after the reapings and well. I'm not sure why we do it anymore, during Matt's Hunger Games we came together mainly because of Jay and me, I guess it has just became a family tradition.

I place the platter on the wooden bench and look towards the clock on the wall. Almost time to leave, I take a deep breath and move toward my mother. In the chair her large build looks smaller than usual more like she did in her earlier years. I quickly stand straight and move next to her,

"We should leave soon…" I say while helping her out of the low chair. She winces slightly before she is able to stand totally straight. It's been ten years since the accident that tore my family apart. Shortly before my father left, my mother was in a mine accident that caused some of her spine to dislodge and rearrange; it forced her out of the mines and into office work for the mayor, which was nothing more than a pity job that gave her at least some money to stay alive.

OoOoO

Walking through the centre of town is almost impossible, crowded and cluttered. On a normal day, the streets would be nearly barren, peace keepers would occasionally pass by, but that was it. Now it's a struggle to even take a step ahead. I leave my mother by Ellyana's butcher shop and make the best attempt I can to push through the thick crowds. By the time I reach the end of the crowd the Mayor stands and slowly makes his way to the centre of the podium. I dart across the small open space between the crowd of adults and the separated groups of children; duck under the velvet rope that separates us into age groups and just manage to squeeze in next to Jay before any of the tougher peace keepers take notice.

I look up to the podium; Effie Trinket sits with her knees together and her bright green hair perfectly in place, Haymitch on the other hand looks even more worse for wear than he did last year, his eyes are ringed with black, his skin looks like leather and, of course, he has a bottle of spirits in his hand. To be perfectly honest everyone in District 12 expected him to die a long time ago, but he seems to always deify the odds, well either that or the Capitol is keeping him alive for the sake of the tributes… actually I think there may be a better chance of hell freezing over before anything like that happens. Next to Haymitch stands the Mayor, well, we call him Mayor but he really is the head peace keeper for our district. Ever since the incidents of rebellion within the districts, the Capitol doesn't trust us to elect our own leader, instead the Mayor is elected by the peace keepers within the district. Apparently there was word of rebellion within the districts when this was announced, but, like always, nothing happened, and we ran with our tails between our legs... again.

By the time I recollect my thoughts the Mayor has already begun his speech straight from the history books. I feel a small nudge at my arm, I look over and fully see Jay for the first time, his thick black hair is actually brushed and tucked behind his ears and his shirt looks ironed,

"You okay?" he asks in a low voice, I hesitate slightly and look back to the small pieces of paper in the glass balls.

"Yeah, of course I am," I smile as best as I can manage and turn my attention backwards. My brother is standing with his arm linked with Anise. I sigh as the anthem begins to play and refocus on Effie as she makes her way towards the three glass balls. She gives her signature smile and in her high pitched Capitol accent says,

"Happy Hunger Games everybody, and may the odds, be _ever_ in your favour." She steps up to one of the three balls, "Ladies first?" she smiled widely and reached into the large glass cylinder. I take a deep breath and hold it. Effie clears her throat and speaks as clear as day, "Izabelle Healy," The nausea from earlier returns in an instant and my limbs lose all strength. I release my breath and take a deep gasp in, the cold air scolds my lungs and I attempt to regain my composure.

I look up to the podium and to the Peacekeepers searching either side of the group for me. Jay grabs my arms and gives it a quick squeeze before I muster the strength to step forward. I know every single set of eyes is squarely locked on me as I make my way to the podium, I try to steady my breathing but I know it's not working. The few steps on the side of the podium feels like a mountain, but by the time I'm at the top I feel slightly more relaxed because Effie is back in the centre of the stage and asking for volunteers and, of course there are none. Now that I'm closer to her I can see the powder blue streaks in Effie's lime green hair and the small accents of deep blue on her eye lids.

"Now, how about the special tributes next?" she says with another smile as she quickly steps toward the ball furthest from the edge. My eyes automatically lock onto my brother. I can only pray his name isn't the one that's called.

Effie looks up from the small piece of paper, "Rheece Walsh," she announces loudly, my first thought is of relief, and then I remember who he is. Ellyana's son, someone who helped to care for my mother when she became ill, I tightly close my eyes and open them when I hear his footsteps coming up the stairs. He's tall compared to some of the guys his age and stocky because he's always had enough to eat, his deep brown hair just covers the back of his neck and eyes are a light shade of grey which I can see are threatening to become completely consumed with unshed tears. I can only imagine how cold I look compared to him, small, and weak, maybe even terrified? I give him a soft, kind smile as he passes in front of me.

There's a moment where my brain freezes, I can see everything, but my ears refuse to hear and before I realise it, Effie's already picked and read out the last name I quickly scan the crowd to see who is moving forward, nothing. I look again and see Jay walking towards the podium,_ No_ I think, _Turn around, please_. This time, tears really threaten to flood my eyes, I bite my bottom lip and really hope the camera crew can't see my face, or else I know that it will be plastered all over the TV screens of Panem.

Jay joins us on stage while Effie retakes her seat and the Mayor starts the same treaty of treason speech like every year. After he finishes the anthem begins to play and I steal a quick glance at Jay, he did the same and our eyes lock for an instant and I can see all his emotions, pain, anger and despair. As the anthem stops, we're all whisked away into separate rooms of town hall.

I sit, almost all alone in one of the largest room of the building. My eyes linger on the peacekeepers standing on either side of the door, their expressions are unreadable but something in their eyes is violent. I shudder slightly and begin to fiddle with the ruby ring around my neck; I pull the hinge to the front and unlock it, then hold the chain and ring in my palm. I'm going in the arena, without my grandmothers ring, otherwise I'm sure to lose it.

OoOoO

I hear my brother's voice long before the double doors open, but once they do, I'm standing and engulfed in his tight embrace, I lift my arms around him and feel the tears swelling in my eyes. I choke them back just as he releases me,

"Listen," he says softly. I almost laugh. I already know where this is going, it's going to be the exact same speech my father gave Mathieu before he was taken away. Will shakes my shoulders softly, "You aren't going to die, we'll do everything to make sure of that," I lift my gaze to his and the tears I managed to hold back since hearing Jay's name called flood down my cheeks,

"She's not the only one who has to eat, remember?" Anise says while holding her hand over her slightly bulged stomach. I desperately want to say something smart in return, but Will squeezes my shoulder and holds my cheek with one of his hands. Seeing Anise cause all my tears to dry up, and gives me a chance to survey everything properly, I look around the room, our Mother was nowhere in sight. I'm held tight against his chest.

"She couldn't… this reminds her too much of Mathieu," he says softly, I nod and tightly close my eyes,

"Make sure she eats, I can still remember what happened last time," I whisper and imagine her, nothing but skin and bones with dull, lifeless, and sunken in eyes. It happened during the time Matt was in the arena, and became even worse after he died. There is no way I'm going to let it happen again.

We stand, tightly huddled together until the Peacekeepers come to take Will and Anise away. Once they've closed the door my muscles relax and a soft clunk draws my attention. I look down and see the ruby ring, _Damn, I forgot about it,_ I slowly bend down to pick it up and once again lace it around my neck.

I'm left in the empty room for a few more minutes before the Peacekeepers come back. They escort me, Jay and Rheece to the station where the camera crews are waiting for us. I clutch tightly to Jay as we bypass the crowds and eventually make our way onto the train.

OoOoO

When I first step inside I'm absolutely blown away, the details on the curtains, rug and wallpaper are amazing and the intoxicating aroma coming from the next cart over makes my mouth begin to water. We stop and are shown to our rooms, I desperately want to change out of this dress and just lay down until were called to dinner but Jay quickly grabs my arm and hauls me into the back of the hallway,

"I thought you said you weren't taking any more tesserae this year," he says harshly, nothing he says is fully registering to me anymore because the overwhelming scent of food has my mind in a daze. "Izzy!" he shakes my forearm. I take a soft breath,

"I didn't, Willem made sure of it because of the quarter quell," I sharply pull my arm back and rub where he was holding,

"Don't lie! He told me about the little girl…" he looks absolutely enraged, "You didn't even know her Izzy!" I look down to the lush carpet.

"I'm going to get changed," I grumble while quickly scooting around him and entering my designated room.

I close the heavy door behind me and hang my head low. I'm regretting my feeble attempt at lying to him now. I took 5 tesserae… my name went into the reaping 5 more times than it should have. All for a starving little girl and her family, I sigh and close my eyes, and the memory of that rainy day blasts into my mind.

OoOoO

The rain pours down over the empty streets and a deep chill runs through the air. I lean my forehead against the cold, frosted window and feel the icy throb deep into my temple. My eyes close slightly and I dig myself deeper into the thin blanket in an attempt to forget the hollow feeling in my stomach. A crash brings me out of my daze and my head immediately whips up.

I gaze out the window. A little girl, no older than 10 pries through all the garbage bins she can find. Behind her she pulls a small, wooden wagon covered with another thinner piece of wood shielding whatever she is looking for from the elements. She stops at our bin and reaches deep into it, she pulls out the bones of one of the rabbits I managed to catch the other day and quickly throws them into the wagon, then reaches further into the bin to find the stalks from strawberries, she probes them with one of her fingers and quickly throws them in as well. Something about her seems familiar maybe I've seen her at school? I can't be sure, but never the less I stand up with the blanket still wrapped around me, grab the small tarp my mother keeps by the door and walk outside. The instant she sees me, she runs and tries to pull the makeshift wagon along, but it snags on a ditch in the road and spills all the covered food over the cold, wet, muddy ground. I quickly dart to help her, leaving the blanket and tarp behind me.

When I reach her, I see the full effect of starvation up close for the first time in years. Her small face has hollow cheeks and eyes, her arms and wrists look as though they could be easily broken and her movements are visibly shaky and slow, it takes all my power not to cringe as I try to help her clear up the already spoiled food. I bend down and pick the small wagon up and settle it against our rickety fence,

"Please don't be mad, my family is…" her small voice is barely audible against the softening rain. I stand straight while still focusing on the food in the wagon, rotten potatoes, stale bread, spoiled meat scraps, half eaten fruit and a few mismatch bones. I sigh and turn to her,

"You were looking for food?" I say as kindly as I can. Her big, deep brown eyes meet mine, and she nods. I bend back down and pick up a piece of meat, "If you cooked this, you would have gotten food poisoning, at best," I throw it into her wagon and give a small smile, "Come inside, I think we have a few leftovers," her face lifts slightly and she follows me inside. While families find it hard to cope with the lack of food and money, everyone in our district has a small sense of charity, well, that's what my mother always tells us. As for me, I am yet to see a single act like towards people who aren't related.

She sits in the kitchen while I hang the blanket and tarp over a chair to dry,

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" just looking at her, I can tell she's only one in a large family,

"T-three," she stutters as I walk back into the kitchen,

"Are you cold?" I ask, she shakes her head,

"I've had the flu for a little while," she sniffs and wipes the droplets of rain from her skin. I hand her an old, small towel and she quickly wraps it around her shoulders. I stand looking into our almost bare cupboards, I open the draws, expecting to see at least one, if not two full bags of grain, instead I find a third of a bag full, I frown slightly, _Damn it Anise_, I can just imagine her sneaking in to 'borrow' some of our food. My irritation with that woman has grown uncontrollably since her and Will married. I almost slam the bag down on the bench and begin to divide the remaining grain. After I pass the small bag over to the girl, I head back towards the cupboard and pick up two of the remaining few jars of preserved meat and one of fruit. Considering I can only guess there are more than 5 in her family, this should last at least two days, maybe. I wrap the three jars up in an old rag and place it on the table. I sit down and after a few seconds take a deep breath,

"Can't you or your siblings apply for tesserae?" I ask, an ashamed look passes over her face,

"If you don't have enough," she pushes the jars and grain back towards me, "You don't need to give them to me," I push them straight back.

"It's not that, it's just… well, even a single tessera per person can give them basic food staples for an entire year… so it would save you having to pick through the bins on the side of the street," I try my best to sound as sincere and friendly as possible, and judging by the look on her face, it had worked.

"I won't be old enough till next year, and my brothers and sisters are even younger than me," she says softly. I let this fully sink in for a moment,

"Twenty-eight, thirty-three," five more entries, it can't possibly make that much of a difference, could it? "I'll take 5 tesserae for you and your family, but you have to promise to give what you can to my mother, ok?" I don't smile, neither does she, and as she tries to object but I cut her off, "It's okay," I say, "I know some people who have their name in at least fifty times, this won't make much of a difference," she manages a half smile, and the next day I went and signed up for her tesserae.

No matter where I am now, I don't regret helping her. Even though Will screamed at me when he found out, I don't regret it.

OoOoO

I take another deep breath and step forward to the bed. It's covered in a thick red, silk blanket and long, fluffy pillows. My first instinct is to jump straight into it, but first I want to get me dress off, I look in the lush, wooden cupboard for any trace of clothing. Luckily this time of year our district actually pays attention, well, to some of us… too bad you have to be sent to your death before they notice.

I peel off my mothers' reaping dress and pull on a loose fitting green shirt and grey trousers. I sit on the edge of the soft bed and lay back with my arms stretched out, I stay like that for what seems like only seconds when exhaustion starts to take over. I gaze up at the ceiling, which is slightly less magnificent compared to the rest of the room, but still far better than anything in my own home. I stifle a sigh and sit up, there is no way I'm going to be able to stay in this room much longer, and already my thoughts are turning to home. I stand and make my way to the door, I hold my ear a few centimetres from the wood panelling to see if Jay is still there. No, good, I'm relieved, the last thing I need right now is to get into another argument with him. I slowly open my door and make my way through the large hallway.

OoOoO

I walk into the next carriage. Jay, Rheece and Effie are sitting at the long, wooden dining table. Haymitch is investigating the liquor and a male avox is pouring more of what I can only guess is wine into a nearly empty jug. Jay looks up at me and quickly looks away. Just perfect, he's still mad. I think about sticking my tongue out at him, but quickly reject the idea, knowing Effie would've caught it. I walk over to the table and sit down, the elaborately decorated cakes and sweets sit directly in front of me, I stare absently at them for a while before reaching forward and grabbing one. The pink frosting sticks to my fingers and one of the edible flowers slides down the side,

"You're meant to be mentoring us, aren't you?" Rheece asks irritably, "We've been on this train for an hour and you've barely said a word to us." _An hour! I can't believe it's been that long…_ I take a mouthful of the sweet cake and watch Haymitch closely. He takes a deep breath and turns his gaze to me,

"You're Mathieu's sister, aren't you?" my eyes widen slightly and I nod. He chuckles for a moment and scratches the back of his head, "Let's hope you don't make the same mistake he did…" he takes a long swig from the whiskey bottle hidden in his coat pocket. My irritation and anger peaks again, I quickly rise to my feet ready to make some sort of comeback but Haymitch continues before I can get a word in. "Simmer down sweet-heart," he makes his way over to the table and slowly sinks down into the padded chair "And you, you want some mentoring tips," he slurs and points a bony finger towards Rheece, "Don't die, because all they want is a good show!" he erupts in laughter and slides down the back of his chair.

Effie makes an almost painful noise and looks totally and utterly disgusted,

"Honestly, I can't possibly understand how they think that you're capable of mentoring anymore," Effie says while filing her nails into perfectly sculpted shapes. She rises and trots to the other end of the cabin, "Do make yourselves at home, and don't be afraid to ask for anything," she straightens her wig, "I'll be back in a moment," she shoots a quick glare at Haymitch before smiling and disappearing through the door. We're left in a dead silent carriage with a drunken mentor that has nearly collapsed on to the floor. I push my anger away again before I sit back down and retrieve my cake from the table and begin swirling designs into the wet frosting.

OoOoO

I lean back in the chair and pull my heels to the edge of the cushion,

"C'mon, I suppose we should size up the competition, right?" I don't know whether Jay is speaking to me, or the liquored-up lump of a man that is lying with his face in the carpet. Rheece nods slightly and quickly moves to Haymitch's side. He pulls him up by one arm and softly secures him on the chair before following behind Jay to the large, velvet sofa near the back of the cart. I stuff the last chunk of the cake into my mouth before following behind the two and, to try to preserve the moment of silent peace between Jay and me. I sit at the feet of the lounge as Rheece turns on the TV and the recap of today's events begins.

OoOoO

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Please review and favorite~! i'd like to get a few more comments on this story, but it doesn't really bother me, cause i write more for me than people on here (though reviews do make me happy :3)


	2. Awkward Acquaintance

This chapter is slightly shorter, but i still like it. Again this is an edited version, nothing major has been changed, but it is waaay better written (i hope) than it was before.

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I stare at the TV, trying my best not to get distracted, but, like always, I can feel his gaze on my back and it causes me to continuously turn around. I let out a soft, but exhausted sigh and try to keep my attention on the TV. The beginning of the District 2 reapings start, their escort, Benny Herald steps up to the glass bowls, like Effie, his hair and clothing is full of the Capitols splendour and flamboyance. Rich shades blue and red covers his suede suit and his pitch black hair is tied in a low hanging ponytail with rainbow feathers sticking out at every direction, the only difference between this man and Effie, is about 20 years. Our escort is well known and popular around the Capitol simply because she's been around far longer than most others in her profession, though that doesn't mean she was totally excused for siding with the rebels, but Benny is the newbie, chosen personally by President Fisher to represent District 2. He is hated throughout the scores of escorts but loved by the Capitol residents.

His muscular hand reaches into one of the glass bowls, and pulls out a single piece of folded paper,

"Ethan Hawthorne," he declares in a deep voice. A boy, not much older than Jay or I steps forward, he looks eerily familiar, the same olive skin and dark hair as many people in the seam have. He steps forward and glides up the concrete stairs. Benny asks for volunteers, many people step forward, but, like a true District 2 dweller, Ethan refuses to give his position away. I shake my head and try to detach my thoughts from the boy on the screen and focus on the next two names. Lani Riverwood and Soffi Hughes are called out. Lani Riverwood, a 12 year old girl opts for the volunteer, which receives a large amount of the population booing her. In her place a stocky, 18 year old girl named Ava Kita stands. Her eyes are vicious and lusting for blood. Just seeing her on the screen sends a shiver down my spine. I stand and walk to the back of the room, trying my best to stay out of Haymitch's line of sight.

OoOoO

45 minutes pass, Jay and Ethan switch off the TV and make their way back to the table. I lean against the bench closest to one of the windows as the sun begins to set. I can make out at least a few stars in the sky.

"Look… I'm sorry," I swivel on my heels, Jay is standing behind me with his arms crossed, "I… uh-" he starts and meets my gaze and stutters more. I giggle when he does and hold my temple in my hand,

"You really aren't good at this, are you?" I remember one day in the woods, I was lining up a deer just a few metres away, Jay stumbled over a fallen tree and it spooked, I tried to hit it, but unfortunately I 'm not the best shot with a bow. He was stuttering all the way home about how sorry he was, it was cute at first, but became more and more annoying. I smile softly and shrug, "Its fine Jay," I say then walk past him, taking his arm and almost drag him back to the table.

OoOoO

Haymitch looks slightly less hammered then when I first saw him, but there is still a red, sleepiness to his gaze.

"Well, I can definitely work with you two…" he chokes out once we sit down, "The Capitol are always suckers for love stories," he smiles a toothy grin. My happy laughter becomes a glare, now I understand why Effie seems to always be irritated around him. "After all I did work magic with Peeta and-"

"That!" Effie interrupts, "Is quite enough Haymitch," as she steps toward us, she gives our mentor a wary look. "No need to linger on the past, right?" she says in a happy, bubbly voice, "So sorry, I had to go check on where our dinner was, apparently there was a mess up in the kitchen," she says with a mild tone of irritation.

"Oh, it's quite alright dear," Haymitch shoots back in a mocking voice. Effie takes a deep breath, and to my best guess she does so, so she doesn't say something she would regret. Our escort sits down, the double doors open and the delicious smell of food wafts in to us.

OoOoO

A large plate is placed down in front of us all and other platters and large bowls are placed in the middle, some containing fruit, vegetables or cheese and the others containing large quantities of meat, sauces, and things I can't even totally identify. Jay and Rheece load their plates almost instantly, Effie picks around at some of the dishes, turning her nose up at most of them and Haymitch takes a long, heavy swig from a not so hidden flask in his jacket pocket. I reach forward, not knowing what to grab first, but once I get a pace going I'm through my second plate in a flash, a choice which I regret almost immediately. My stomach starts churning, I look over to Jay and Rheece and I can see the food has done the same to them.

I lean back and take slow sips of the clear liquid on the table, somehow Jay is managing to once again shovel mouthful after mouthful in. I raise my eyebrows and he glances over to me,

"It couldn't hurt to put on a few kilos before the games, right?" he says to be and then turns his head toward Haymitch, who gives a half-hearted nod.

"Couldn't hurt you either sweet-heart," he slurs before resting his elbows in the table, "But considering the usual size of the other competitors, you'd need to eat around the clock just to keep up with them," he smirks and my blood boils,

"Then I guess they'd better bring out more bread," I spit back at him. He smiles wider,

"Tell me, can you do anything other than run your mouth, sweet-heart?" his almost life-less eyes are trained on me,

"The hell she can! She's even better at throwing knives and jumping through trees than her father was!" Jay jumps in, "Not to mention her ability to tame animals," I glare at Jay,

"Thanks…" I say while focusing back on Haymitch, whose smart ass smirk has grown cold, and serious. He gives the Avox near the door a side long glance, who almost immediately fills the glasses with sweet smelling liquor,

"Tell me more," he orders.

"Jay is the best hunter I know, not only that Rheece knows all the weak spots in any animals anatomy, I've seen him take on people twice his size with ease," I say, trying to get back at Jay for revealing nearly everything we do to a more than useless mentor, unfortunately I managed to drag Rheece into it. He thought for a moment,

"Show me," he says, holding a sharp knife out to me, I quickly gaze a Effie, her attention seems to be aimed at a piece of uncooked meat on her plate. I take the knife from Haymitch and look for something to hit, the cake stand catches my eye and I zero in on it. I hold the knife blade between my fingers, take a deep breath and throw.

The knife swirls almost perfectly through the air and luckily manages to hit one of the cakes on the middle platter. I take a breath of relief and sit back down. One of the Avox investigates the cake stall and quickly looks toward me, his greying hair stands out against the red uniform and wrinkles are beginning to emerge around his forehead, my eyes connect for a moment with his jade-green ones before Haymitch catches my attention.

"That was wonderful," he claps at my effort and shakily stands to retrieve my knife from the male Avox, "Now, what is your weapon of choice?" he points the frosting covered knife at Jay,

"A bow, I found one years ago hiding in the forest surrounding our district." he says confidently while leaning to one side of the chair. Haymitch seems surprised at first, but overall satisfied with his answer.

"And you?" he queries Rheece. A few seconds pass and Haymitch's already drunken state of irritability takes over, "you were the ones who want mentoring, now what can you do?" he asks angrily,

"I can fight," he answers simply, "And yes, I do know weak spots in the body, my mother owns the butcher shop, and I've been the one responsible for dismembering the carcases while she works the front of the shop," he eases back in his chair and picks at the grapes on the table. Haymitch sighs softly and rams the blade of the knife into the wooden table, causing Effie to jump in her seat,

"Haymitch-"

"Fine," he cuts her off, "you all want a mentor so badly? Now you've got one." he runs his hand through his hair and slumps back and manages to miss his chair completely. He lands flat on his back, completely passed out and drooling.

"Now that we've got him, I think I'm having second thoughts," I say.

OoOoO

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So thats it for now! the next chapter will be up later tonight (i'll write it while watching Glee :3) like i said on the last one, i'd like a few more reviews on this story, mainly just to ensure that you all like it. Also special thanks for the anonymous review who ever you are! :3 much appreciated


	3. The Capitol

Hello anyone who cares! Like i promised earlier, this is the chapter update (i edited the last 2 chapters, if you want to know) i don't know why i continued it really, its one of my least popular FF's, but meh.

Enjoy!

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The rocking of the train keeps me from sleep, and the flashing lights we pass don't really help either. Today was full of… unfriendly surprises, and just seemed to keep getting worse as it went on. I know that as soon as I fall asleep, the day will replay over and over again, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I slowly begin to close my eyes, and eventually my body succumbs to sleep.

It's the late in the morning before I wake up, and, just as I had feared, the Reaping played over and over again in my head, but not always the way it happened, instead of Rheece, my brothers' name was called, and Anise instead of just trying to ignore me at the final goodbyes, she warned me, "He had better come back, I'll kill you myself if you return and he doesn't,". Then my Mother steps in the room, eyes already red from tears and her face miserable. Of course it wasn't enough for the games to claim one of her children, it had to claim all three.

I tightly close my eyes and bury my face in my hands. I stand and shake away the homesick feeling as best I can. Walking out to the hallway I run into Haymitch, who looks much better than he did last night, the red rings around his eyes are faded and so has the overly strong smell of alcohol. He gives me a glance as we proceed down the quiet hallway,

"You ready sweet-heart? We arrive in a few hours," he says with a yawn,

"I guess…" I reply nervously. I stop just short of the door, "Do you know who is our stylists are? I heard that the ones from last year we're all fired…" he smiles,

"That is a surprise. All you need to remember is to do whatever they tell you to do, no matter what." He warns with a widening smirk.

I look at him, puzzled for a moment before I step through the door. I can hear Jays snoring almost immediately and the closer I get to the table the louder it gets. I look over the top of the couch low and behold there he is, completely dead to the world. I smirk and push the top of the couch forward, causing him to roll off and almost get crushed by it. He crawls out through a small opening between the arm rest and the floor,

"I thought I told you to go to bed hours ago, your back will get screwed up if you sleep here," I say sternly with my hands on my hips. He looks absolutely dumbfounded, I try to keep my face straight for as long as I can, but my internal smile eventually breaks through and I lose my composure. We both end up laughing uncontrollably when he wacks his head on the deep brown, wooden post.

Haymitch and Effie beckon us back to the centre of the room when the breakfast buffet starts being laid out.

"I heard that you had a break through with Haymitch last night," Effie says while putting her arm around me. I don't quite know what to say to her she was there, wasn't she? I open my mouth to say something, but Jay pulls my thoughts away from our escort.

"You've got to be kidding me! I've seen what they dress our tributes like some years! There's no way in hell I'm letting them do whatever they want!" his fists are clenched and he looks as though he's ready to knock the Haymitch right out the window. Haymitch rubs the side or his forehead and takes a few deep breaths,

"I can assure you that you won't be half naked and covered in black glitter dust," he grumbles then takes a mouthful of what looks like water, but I'm not too sure about it and continues. "Now could you dial it down a few notches, lover-boy?" Jay gives him what looks like an irritated glare, but a faint rose colour appears across his cheeks.

"Serves you right, if you actually heard these kids out from the beginning you wouldn't have such a bad hangover." Effie says smugly, which receives an irritated grunt from Haymitch as he practically falls back into the padded chair.

In an attempt to dissipate the tension between Jay and Haymitch, I make sure to sit between the two of them and bring up a different subject, although Effie makes it extremely difficult because she can't stop ranting about the luxuriousness that well see in the Capitol. I sigh and give up on stopping her continuous ranting and look out the window. A few hours and we'll be in the centre of everything, they'll go crazy for the littlest gesture from us, claim to love us, cry when we die, then move on their next favourite. It's absolutely disgusting.

OoOoO

After what Haymitch called a small breakfast, I return to my room and jump in the shower to the left of the double bed. The water temperature is hot almost instantly, it takes me a moment to adjust to the warmth but once I do I'm completely at ease. It would take at least 20 minutes just to gather the wood and boil the water to have a hot bath at home and even then it goes cold almost immediately, I guess there are some pro's to this trip, not many, but a few.

Once I get out of the shower I slip on another set of clothes and go to leave the room. I reach for my mothers' ring, but it's not there, I quickly spin around and check the clothes I left on the ground last night, then to the bed, nothing. I become more and more frantic as I search deeper into the sheets, someone knocks at the door. I spin around quickly. Jay is leaning easily against the jam of the door, his lips curved up in a cocky smirk.

"What has you in such a happy mood?" I ask, still shuffling through my bed sheets and drawers of the nearby cupboards. I see him do some sort of hand gesture, but I don't look. He gives me an exasperated groan, and walks over beside me, wraps a strong arm around me and dangles my mother's keep-safe in front of me. I quickly snatch it and escape his grasp,

"When did you get this?" I ask, a little more accusingly than I intended. He smiles and puts his hands up protectively,

"While you were in the shower," he says easily. I feel my cheek heat up, I didn't close the door completely, and he was in here?! I clench my jaw and throw the nearest thing I can at him. Luckily it was a pillow otherwise he could have lost something. We both laugh and walk back out to the dining cart. I'm glad I have Jay with me otherwise I know I wouldn't be able to handle it.

OoOoO

I watch out the window, it's still the early hours of the afternoon and I can clearly make out the Capitol. Large buildings that could very easily block out the suns light and hovering vehicles surround the streets, the train enters a large tunnel and I feel Jay behind me, he places a soft, kind hand on my back as the citizens of the Capitol stand on both platforms beside the train. I feel like they're suffocating me. The bright colours of their clothing and hair shock my eyes and even with a wall of glass separating us I can smell the perfume and cologne that they're coated head to toe in.

"Smile and wave princess," Haymitch murmurs to me, hiding safely behind the racks of fruit and sweets. I do as said and people start screaming and try to reach out and touch the train.

I'm happy that the commotion only lasted a few minutes, anymore and I'm sure I would have lost it, which is kind of scary when I think about it. Especially considering I'm about to spend the next however many weeks on their television screens fighting for my life to give them entertainment.

OoOoO

We're allowed off of the train about half an hour later, my first steps on to solid ground are shaky, but I guess being in constant motion has messed with my balance. Jay, Rheece and I are taken into separate rooms and I sit, waiting as patiently as I can manage for my unknown stylist.

Two people walk speedily into the room. One is a super tall and thin woman with snow white hair and bright purple and pink eyeliner. She's wearing a baby pink leather dress that barely covers her green skin. The other is a short, well-built man with blazing hair that looks like fire, wearing a plaid suit with a lime tie. They both make their way over to me and ask, well, more order me to change into a thin silk robe. Once I do, they begin to strip me of any unwanted hair, file my nails and scrub me from head to toe. My stomach is in knots again, I can hear the mumbles and murmurs coming from the two members of my prep team and their judging glances. My actual stylist can't get here sooner.

My body stings terribly, but once my skin stops burning, and the redness fades, I'm able to fully see the work my prep team spent 45 minutes on. My nails are cut, and filed to perfection, my skin is still tingling, but soft, and my hair feels silky. Maybe I should have taken better care of myself while still in district 12… I look myself up and down in the mirror, still waiting for my stylist to magically appear.

I hear the door unlock, and a man, looking to be in his mid-forties walks in the door. I almost didn't expect him to walk around me and inspect my body. His clothes are plain black, but neat, his black hair is teased slightly and styled to perfection. The only thing that seems to stand out even remotely is his eyes, which are surrounded with a thin layer of gold and silver eye liner. He stops and smiles kindly,

"Hello, Izabelle Healy, I'm your stylist, Cinna," I swear, my jaw nearly hit the floor.

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Please review! i promise the next chapter will be even more interesting, and Izabelle's dress will be in it~!


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